Inmates to train pups

Tuesday

Jul 23, 2013 at 11:20 AM

Staff reports

CHIPPEWA COUNTY — Chippewa Correctional Facility will begin a pilot program with the Leader Dogs for the Blind based out of Rochester, Mich. The facility has been selected to raise four puppies to be housed in the facility's level I housing unit. The Leader Dogs for the Blind program has deemed that the prisoner-raised puppies are most likely to succeed in providing a decade of enhanced mobility, independence, and quality of life for the visually impaired clients.

According to Leader Dog representatives puppies placed in homes experience a 40-percent success rate in being placed with a client while puppies raised in a prison experience a 65-percent success rate of being placed with a client. In a coordinated effort between staff and prisoners, the facility will receive the puppies at seven-weeks-old and will train the dogs for approximately one year in social and obedience skills necessary for future placement with a blind person.

Chippewa Correctional Facility will be the first prison in Michigan offering the Leader Dog for the Blind Program. The program is supported by the Leader Dogs for the Blind along with outside sponsorships.

For more information about the program, visit: http://www.leaderdog.org/.